Apparatus for revivifying char.



ms. KENT. APPARATUS FOR REVIVIFYING CI'IAR.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE25, i913.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916..

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RBERT S. KENT, 0F BJR'OKLYN, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR REVIVIIFYING CHAR.

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speciacation of Letters ratent. Jpg-tempuri 195mg., ,5, any@ application tiled rune a5, 1era. serial no. waere@ an extent as to be unsuitable for further use for purifying saccharine andothensolutions. My present rnventlon 1s 1n the nature of an lmprovement upon the apparatus hereto- .fore used for carrying out the' ll'einrich process of revivifying char or boneeblack set forth, for example, in Patent No. 586,278, granted July 13, 1897, andthe principal object of the invention is to provide an apparatus by means of which the char to be treated may be lnore perfectly exposed to the action of a gaseous medium for altering the carbon content thereof andV in which apparatus said gaseous medium and the parts of the apparatus through which it passes may be more economically heatedv than in apparatus heretofore employed for such purpose.

'lhe principal feature of my present in-` vention is the employment of a char-drying drum preferably so constructed as to perlmit the showering of the material under treatment in line streams through the drum and heating means located wholly within the apparatus for heating -up the drum and a lcurrent of air, lcarbon dioxid, or other gaseous medium passing through the drum to a point at which said medium will be edective to bring about the desired revivifying action and alter the carbon content of the char sutliciently to restore said char to a condition for reuse. As this process of retirvifying char as practised for many years -embraces. both the destructive distillation of organic matter contained inthe cell structure and upon the surface of each particle of char and also the addition of carbon to cell strnctures of particles of char weakened by the more or less rapid oxidation'of portions of such cells, or to add carbon to such cell struc-` tures when necessary. 'll his result will of course be obtalned by lsupplying either atmospheric air or other oxygen-containing ont-trent gaseous medium to'the drum in whichthe char under treatment is contained, or by supplying a gaseous medium, such as carbon dioxid, to the char, which medium lwhen .dissociated under the action of the temperature presentl will of course deposit its carbon upon and within the cell structures of the particles. Of course the more completely the .char is broken up and separated into its constituent particles, as by showering through a drum, the more readily will either the subtraction or the addition of carbon to such particles be accomplished.

The apparatus which I prefer to employ for carrying into effect my present invention for altering the carbon content of char is preferably a modification of the type of rotary drying apparatus disclosed in my prior Patent No'. 911,052, granted March 2, 1902, and in -my prior applicationv No. 766,592, filed May 9, 1918, for drying materials, in each of which there is set forth a drying apparatus of the rotary drum type containing flights forl showering the material through the drum during the rotation thereof, and in the latter of which there is disclosed a drum of this type heated by a furnace located within such drum.

@ther features of the invention not hereinbefore referred to will be hereinafter de- Scribedand claimed and are illustrated in vthe accompanying drawings, in which,-

lFigure 1 is a substantially central, longitudinal section and side elevation of an internally heated drying apparatus for decarbonizng or recarbonizing char and embodyi'ng the present invention; Fig. 2 is a transrerse'section and front elevation of the same, the section being taken in line 2 2, Fig. 1, looking in the direction 'of the arrow, and l11 ig. 3 is a transverse Asection and rear elevation of the saine., the section being taken in line le-i3, lig. ll, looking in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow.

Similar' characters. designate like parts in all the' figures of the' drawings.

ln carrying my invention into edect -l rmake use of a suitable drying apparatus capable of operation substantially in the manner before described, it being preferably of substantially the type illustratedy in the drawings. The main elements "of this ap paratus are in most respects of Well lmow/n proper pointsr in its length in a well known manner on roller bearings. Tlis drum is placed, asis usual,at a slight angle to'the horizontal, for the purpose of assuring the movement ofthe material from the upper or Y.receiving endtothe lower or delivery end of the drum. 'At the receiving end the material may be introduced into the drum in any suitable manner, as for example, through a spout 5, projecting into the receiving end of the drum, preferably at. aj

point at oneA side ofthe axis of the same' This spout may lead from any lusual source of supply of moist-char to be dried. Near one-endthereof, in'this case the receiving end', provision is made for continuously rotating the outer drying chamber or drum 2, the means shown for the purpose being the usual large external gear, 6, meshingwith a driving pinion, 7, and suitably supported and 'carried by a driving shaft, 8.

In connection with the outer drying chamber or rota-rydrum 2 I prefer to employ as in my aforesaid application, an inner chamber or shell, for the purpose of circulating a heated gaseous drying medium, usually products of combustion from a Afurnace or other .suitable source of heat, throughthe apparatus from one end to the other of the same. Such an inner drying chamber is shown at 9. Unlike the outer drum 2 it is illustrated as stationary and also as disposed substantially horizontally. At its forward end it is intended to be connected with suitable means for supplying the gaseous heating medium for circulation through the inner chamber 9 from the front to the rear thereof, from which products of combustion may be delivered through a iue, 10, to a stack (not shown) in a well known manner.

The drum 2 is so constructed as to be capable of raising and showering the moist char in a manner which is well understood, suitable char-conveying buckets or flightsbeing shown at 11 for this purpose. These flights may be either straight-edge flights or sawtooth flights of the type shown in my aforesaid patent. Near its ends the outer rotary drum 2 is preferably mounted, as usual, in suitable casing-heads, such as 12 and 13, which serve to cover the open ends of said drum andprevent waste of heat, etc. The head 13 is preferably movable to permit the drum to be shifted length- `wise relatively to the other parts in assem- -bling and vvdisassan'bling. Suitable joints properly packed will be employed, as indicated at 14 and 15, at the points where the rotary drum 2 passes lnto said casing-heads.

The inner drying chamber or iue 9 may be supported and mounted in substantially the manner disclosed in my aforesaid application, it being shown as stationary and as mounted on substantially stationary supporting means. Its cross-section is also preferably such as to facilitate the descent of the char being showered and to permit the char to fall to the bottom of the rotary drum 2. Here its cross-section is triangular, it being substantially that of an equilateral -triangle with one vertex uppermost and its side walls, 16, sloping to such an extent as to preventaccumulation of the char thereon. The delivery end of this triangular pipe or chamber may be connected in any suitable x'vay with the flue 10. There is of course no communication between the two chambers '2 and 9 as the latter is intended to carry prodvucts of combustion from the furnace which,

of course, must be kept out of contact with the char being treated, At its forward end the stationary chamber' or flue 9 is open to communication with the heating means.

Here the chamber 9 is independently supported on one or more channel-beams, 17, which, in this construction, extend from the rear end of the heating means proper to the rear end of the apparatus, and each at its rear end is suspended from a hanger, 18, in the casing-head 13, it'being not only supported by said hanger but so held as to be permitted t0 expand and contact longitudinally in accordance with changes in the temperature. At its forward end each channel-beam 17 is supported in a manner which will be hereinafter described.

One of the principal features of the apparatus is, as before stated, internal heating means for supplying to the interior of the apparatus sufficient heat for drying the char and also heating it up (both through contact with heated walls and with a heated gaseous medium) to a point where the temperature will be high enough to bring about the desired oxidizing or reducing action to ychange the carbon content of the char. The preferred construction is one in which the heating means or furnace is not only located within the ,outer drum in which the char is circulated during drying, but is also connected directly to the receiving end of the stationary 'inner drying chamber 9 as in my aforesaid application. A furnace suitable for the purpose is illustrated at 19. i

As shown it is a relatively long furnace, substantially circular in cross-section and of considerably smaller diameter than the outer rotary drum 2, in order that it may be located within said drum and yet leave sufiicientrspace between it and the circuit of internal fiights 11 in said drum to permit the proper showering of the material in the drum in' the rot-ation of said flights, and also permit the proper circulation of a suitable mordre i it heated gaseous medium lengthwise through the drum for drying and decarbonizing or recarbonizing thetzhar. 'lhis furnace l9has the usual grate, 20, and a suitable tirebrick lining, 2l,-which also serves to prevent overheating of the surrounding space and the Walls of the rotary drum 2-andv is closed at its forward end by a door or doors (not shown) through which the furnace may be charged. Near its rearl end it has a bafde-Wall, 22, and at the extremerear end thereof a delivery opening, 23, in the end A Wall, 2t (of metal and hre-brick) through lit yvvhich delivery opening the furnace gases are delivered and enter the forward or re ceiving end ofthe stationary inner drying` verse channel-bars, 26, at the receiving end d 2 preferably at a point on cue side.

of itheapparatus. At 'its rear-end the furr nace is secured to the channel-beams I7 the bottom edges of which are shown as on a level with the bottom of the furnace. 'lhese channel-beams support the due 9 directly and the due itself is also securely fastened to the rear end ofsaid ace. 'lhe char to be treated is supplied, as hev forev stated, through the pipe 5 and-is de livered into the interior of theouter .rotary of the center of the top of the furnace, so

"of the l" L11 that as little as pomible Will lodge on top` ace, the incline of these walls bey ing `suoli 'that the material will dow downivard. The moist material falls hrst tothe bottom ofthe 1h in 2 and is caught bythe dights .ll and carriedaround Yby them Iand showered through ,the space in said drum from 'apoint near the top of the rotary d.I 'lhe construction of the flights is such that ythe char is preferably not spilled from them until said flights passl some distance beyond [the central vertical plane of the furnace and drum, in order 'that the matitl* trial may. `not lodge on top of the furnace or on top of the/due 9.' llhe falhng char 'is subjected to the actionof a suitable heated l gaseous medium for drying 1t and for also altering the carbon content thereof as desired, this medium being usually 'either heated air or heated carbon dioxid obtained in any usual manner.v 'its the char is tumbled around in the drum by being caught up and spilled in showers by the dights the moisture in it. is rapidlyP removed andthe organic matter upon the surfaces and within the cells of thefparticles is either oxidized and' driven ed or' redu` carbon by the action of the oxidizing or reducing gas, and A inthe event that the latter isused there is a. further addition of carbon due to the breaking up of the carbon dioxid andthe depositing of its carbon content in and on the particles of char. During this period the temperature will of course boe at a pointsutlicient to assure thel proper carrying out of the process, the degree ofA heat' depending upon the condition of the char under treatment and upon the nature of the treatment which it is to undergo. Uf course suitable provision should be Iliade for regulating the supply of the gaseous medium for altering the carbon content of the char, a valve of suitable construction being shown at 2 in a supply pipe, 28, leading into the casinghead 13V. The outlet for the gaseous medium supplied through this pipe is indicated at '29. rlhe action of this medium continues until in the course of its treatment the char reaches the delivery end of the drum :2 when it is discharged from the drum and may be received and carried away b v a suitable conveyer, such as a feed-screw 30. working in a receiving trough, 3l.

From the foregoing it is clear that in my improved apparatus for carrying out lthe Weinrich process of altering the carbon content of-boue-black the char is dried, revivified and its carbon content altered asmay be required by the action of a gaseous medium heated by internalheating means, that is to say, by a heater' or furnace located Within and practically inclosed by the outer drying 7chamber which is also a rotary drum with internal dights, so that substantially .all of the heat given od bythe furnace is utilized vin the apparatus insteadof being radiated into space and Wasted to a large extent as is vthe case with drying apparatus for this purpose having external heating means. llt Will alsobe seen that the furnace and the inner or stationary chamber are both supported entirely independently of the outer may be readily removed from or assembled with theother parts, and that in addition to this, though the rotary drum surrounds and lies at a diderent vangle from the furnace andthe stationary chamber, which latvvith the rotation f `the outer drum about the furnace and the stationary inner champ ber. `lFurthe`r it vvill be clear that provision is made for compensat forv longitudinal vexpansion and contraction of the inner drying chamber, and in' general for allnecessary movements of the parts either during operation or in 'assembling or disassembling 1e'hen the apparatus is not in operation.

What lf claim isi l.,l[n van apparatus for revivifying char,

the combination `with a rotary char-convey or rotary drying chamber, so thatl the latter lter elements are supported directly by the main frame-Work, there is nointerferenceias ing drum of means including a f urance located entirely within the drum for passing a heating medium from the furnace through the drum, said means serving to retain the heating medium out of contact with the ing drum of means including a furnace lo cated entirely within the drum at the rey ce'iving end thereof for passing a heating medium from the furnace through the drum, said means serving to retain the heating medium. out of contact with the char in the drum, closures for the endsI of the drum serving to completely inclose the furnace in the drum, and means associated with at least one of said closures to 'admit gaseousme `dium to the interior of the drum to alter the carbon content of the char.

y 3. In an apparatus for revivifying char, the combination with a rotary char-conveying drum of means including a furnace located entirely within the drum at the receiving end thereof for passing a heating medium from the furnace through the drum, said means serving to retain .the heating medium out of contact with the char in the drum, closures for the ends of thev drum serving to completely inclose the furnace in the drum, and means associated with the closure at the discharge end of the drum for passing a gaseous medium through the drum in a direction opposite to the flow of said.

heating medium to alter the carbon content of the char.

4. In an apparatus for revivifying char,

the combination with a rotary char-conveythe interior of the drum to alter the carbonJ content of the char.

5.`In an apparatus for revivifying char,

. the combinationwith a rotary char-conveying drum mounted to turn about a'n axis disposed at anv angle to the horizontal, of flights within the. drum for lifting and showering the char in said drum, -means including a stationary furnace located entirely vthe combination with a vrotary char-convey- 'York and State of New York 4within the .drum for passing a heating medium .from the furnace through the drum, closures for the ends of the drum serving to completely inclose the furnace in the drum, and means associated with at least .one of said closures to admit gaseous me- -in the drum, means including a furnace located entlrely within the drum and completely inclosed by the drum and, said casing heads for passmg a heatmg medlum through the drum, said means serving to retain the heating medium out of contact .with the char in the drum, and means associated with the casing head at the discharge end of the drum for admitting a gaseous medium to the interior of the drum to alter the carbon content of the char.

7. In an apparatus for reyivifying char,

ing drum of a drying chamber disposed within the same, means including a furnace located entirely within the drum for passing a heating medium through the interior of said heating chamber, said chamber serving to retain the heating medimn out of` contact with the char in the drum, closures lfor the ends of the drum serving to completely inclose the furnace in the drum, and means associated with at least one of said closures to admit gaseous medium to the interior'of the drum to alter the carbon content of the char. A

8; In an apparatus for revivifying char, the combination with a rotary char-conveying drum 4-of a drying chamber disposed within the same, means including a furnace located entirely within the drum for passing a heating mediumfthrough the interior of said heatlng chamber, saidchamber serving to retain the heating medium out of contact with the char in the drum, closures for the ends of the drum sel-ring to'completely inclose the furnace in the drum, and regulable means associated with at least one of said closures for admitting gaseous medium to the interior of the drum to alter vthe carbon content of the char.

-Signed at New York in the county of New this 20th da)v 120 of June A. D. 1913.

ROBERT S. KENT.

Witnesses: y

C. S. CHAMPION, ANNIE C. BARNES. 

